Johannesburg Open RD1: Wildcard Wood Leads Surprise Results

The opening day of the Assore/Balwin Johannesburg Open saw a slew of surprises, all coming in the women’s event, with wildcard Cheyna Wood leading those through to the quarter finals fo the Challenger 3 level competition.

Wood took on No.7 seed Kimberley McDonald in the opening round of the tournament, and the South African spent just 21 minutes on court to overcome her compatriot, dropping just seven points in the process to book her spot in the last eight. She will now face another South African, in Awande Malinga, after she defeated No.3 seed Shelomi Truter in a four-game battle on Thursday afternoon.

There will also be another all-unseeded contest in the quarter finals, thanks to Tayla Diepenbroek and Mariska Wiese winning their respective opening round clashes. Wiese downed No.4 seed Makgosi Peloakgosi in the first round, while Diepenbroek defeated No.8 seed Bongi Seroto, with both winning through in straight games.

The top two seeds, in Jenny Preece and Teagan Leigh Roux, both safely came through their respective matches, also winning in three, to advance to the quarter where they will face Rachel Shannon and Jess McDonald, respectively.

There were no surprises in the men’s event on the opening day, with the top eight seeds all winning their first round matches in straight games. Defending champion Dewald van Niekerk will now face Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muhwati in the last eight, with Iran’s Sami Ghasedabadi and Sepehr Etemadpoor both also made it through.

The second day of the Challenger 3 level tournament will see the quarter finals take place at Parkview Squash Centre in Johannesburg, with the last eight doing battle for places in the semi-finals.

Men’s First Round Results: Assore/Balwin Johannesburg Open
[1] Dewald van Niekerk (RSA) bt Reuel Videler (RSA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (29m)
[5] Blessing Muhwati (ZIM) bt Ali Tajahmadi (IRI) 3-0: 11-1, 11-0, 11-1 (12m)
[7] Christo Potgieter (RSA) bt Tayne Turnock (ZIM) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 11-5 (23m)
[4] Sami Ghasedabadi (IRI) bt Gary Wheadon (RSA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (32m)
[3] Sepehr Etemadpoor (IRI) bt Abdelrahman Abdelkhalek (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 18-16 (58m)
[8] Ruan Olivier (RSA) bt [WC] Hayden Worth (RSA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 (24m)
[6] Tristen Worth (RSA) bt Jonny Matthys (RSA) 3-0: 13-11, 11-6, 11-6 (28m)
[2] Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA) bt Sahand Kabirjabbari (IRI) 3-0: 11-2, 11-3, 11-1 (14m)

Men’s Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Friday, June 3
[1] Dewald van Niekerk (RSA) v [5] Blessing Muhwati (ZIM)
[7] Christo Potgieter (RSA) v [4] Sami Ghasedabadi (IRI)
[3] Sepehr Etemadpoor (IRI) v [8] Ruan Olivier (RSA)
[6] Tristen Worth (RSA) v [2] Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA)

Women’s First Round Results: Assore/Balwin Johannesburg Open
[2] Teagan Leigh Roux (RSA) bt Jess McDonald (RSA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-1, 11-4 (14m)
[6] Anam Mustafa Aziz (PAK) bt Elske Garbers (RSA) 3-1: 3-11, 14-12, 11-9, 11-6 (24m)
Tayla Diepenbroek (RSA) bt [8] Bongi Seroto (RSA) 3-0: 11-7, 16-14, 11-4 (30m)
Mariska Wiese (RSA) bt [4] Makgosi Peloakgosi (RSA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 (22m)
Awande Malinga (RSA) bt [3] Shelomi Truter (RSA) 3-1: 11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 (28m)
[WC] Cheyna Wood (RSA) bt [7] Kimberley McDonald (RSA) 3-0: 11-2, 11-2, 11-3 (21m)
[5] Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) bt Savannah Ingledew (RSA) 3-1: 11-6, 3-11, 11-7, 11-6 (31m)
[1] Jenny Preece (RSA) bt Rachel Shannon (RSA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-4 (23m)

Women’s Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Friday, June 3
[2] Teagan Leigh Roux (RSA) v [6] Anam Mustafa Aziz (PAK)
Tayla Diepenbroek (RSA) v Mariska Wiese (RSA)
Awande Malinga (RSA) v [WC] Cheyna Wood (RSA)
[5] Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) v [1] Jenny Preece (RSA)